Food for Tomorrow
A Lemelson Center Symposium at the National Museum of
American History
November 5 - 6, 2010
Join us for our annual New Perspectives on Invention and Innovation
symposium. This year's event features an array of activities exploring the
inventions and innovations that have shaped and will shape "Food for
Tomorrow." Inventors, writers, historians, farmers, and scientists
come together in conversations and demonstrations about ways that invention
has been and still is part of our daily menu.
How do invention and innovation shape the ways we grow, prepare, and
enjoy food? Discover the history and future of food and related
technologies. Along the way, eat, drink, and learn!
Continue reading, or visit our website, for
full program information.
For Starters: Truck Farm! Movie Sneak Peak & Homegrown Mixology
Filmmakers Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis, the Peabody Award-winning
co-creators of King Corn, Big River, and The Greening
of Southie, discuss their newest film and show pre-release clips. Truck
Farm! is the true story of urban farms taking root in America’s biggest
city, from a self-sustaining Staten Island barge to a 6,000-square-foot
market garden atop a Brooklyn roof. These and similar gardens are breathing
new life into old cities. After the preview, master mixologists concoct
garden-fresh libations accompanied by local bites.
Friday, November 5; 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tickets required;
Gen. Admission $20
First Course: In the Field
Bird-Friendly Coffee and Breakfast Bites
9 a.m.
Keynote Address: An Introduction to the Future of Food
9:30 a.m.
Whether you’re eating preservative-enhanced cookies or organically-grown
carrot sticks, food is a source of pleasure and anxiety, a lucrative market
for big business, and an indicator of social and political environments.
What might be on the table in the year 2050 and beyond?
Warren Belasco is a professor of American studies at the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a founder of the academic
food studies movement.
In the Field: Producing Food for Tomorrow
10 a.m.
Panelists will address change, innovation, invention, and sustainability in
the production of food for the future, including sources of food from local
farmers and aquaculturalists, global agricultural systems, and space labs.
Other topics include the roles of science, technology, and ethics; genomics
and GMOs; future revolutions and revelations; environmental effects of
natural and manmade disasters; and the place of culture in food production.
Steven Craig is senior research scientist at Virginia Cobia Farms.
Gary Paul Nabhan is a food and farming advocate, ethnobiologist,
and conservationist, and a professor of geography at the University of
Arizona. Jane Silverthorne is manager of the National Science
Foundation Plant Genome Research Project. Moderator Carolyn de la Pena
is an associate professor of American studies at the University of
California at Davis and an authority on agricultural technology.
Saturday, November 6; 9 a.m. to noon. Tickets required;
free admission.
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A
Twittered Food Truck Muster
An appetizing array of local food trucks arrives--announced by
Twitter!--at the Museum's Constitution Avenue entrance with a wide range of
flavorful fare available for purchase.
Saturday, November 6; noon to 1:30 p.m.
Food truck prices vary.
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Second Course: In the Kitchen
Preparing Food for Tomorrow
What were the cutting-edge technologies of the past? How will we make our
food in the future? Will a cook need to be a chemist? Will meals be made by
immersion circulators (“sous vide”) or induction heat, microwaves, wood
fires, or biomass briquettes? Will we be eating slow food, fast food, or no
food? Experts discuss past and emerging technologies, methods, foodstuffs,
and fuels.
Molly O’Neill is a noted food writer, cookbook author, and
reporter whose new book, One Big Table, will be released in
November. Bess Williamson is a Ph.D. candidate at the University
of Delaware who focuses on disabilities studies and implications for
kitchen design. Darrell Nemeth is a chef from Homaro Cantu’s Moto
Restaurant and Discovery’s Planet Green series Future Food.
Saturday, November 6; 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Free admission, no tickets
required.
Third Course: At the Table
Eating Meals Tomorrow
In the future, what and when will we eat, and will it be good for us? How
will food taste? What have we learned from the space program about
preparing, producing, and eating food in space and on Earth? Discussion
includes both past and potential challenges and successes related to baby
food, family meals, school lunches, nutrition, and space food.
Amy Bentley is an associate professor and a founding member in
food studies in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public
Health at New York University. Janet Poppendieck is a professor of
sociology at Hunter College, City University of New York. Vickie
Kloeris is subsystem manager for the International Space Station and Shuttle
Food Systems for NASA. Moderator Ashley Koff is a registered
dietician and author.
Saturday, November 6; 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Free admission, no tickets
required.
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Wine Tasting: Innovative East Coast Winemakers
Washington Post wine columnist Dave McIntyre leads
conversation and wine tasting with innovative winemakers from East Coast
vineyards, including Black Ankle Vineyards (Maryland), Glen Manor Vineyards
(Virginia), Shinn Estate Vineyards (Long Island), and The Boxwood
Winery (Virginia).
Saturday, November 6; 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets required;
Gen. Admission $35
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Food Activities for Families
During Saturday’s symposium, Spark!Lab will give itself over to food and
invention-related activities including bubble making with kitchen supplies
and using crystals from various kinds of salts to demonstrate how inventors
have created novel ways to preserve and cook food. Visitors to Spark!Lab
can also start their own hydroponic garden using seeds and polyfil.
Outside of Spark!Lab, visitors can get up close to food-related objects
from the Museum’s collections at 11 a.m., taste-test different salts at noon
and 3 p.m., or compete in the Kitchen Gadget Showdown to find out if a
high-tech gadget works better or faster than its low-tech predecessor at
1:30 and 3:30 p.m. Visitors can also explore the Museum’s food-related
displays by completing a special scavenger hunt.
Saturday, November 6; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Spark!Lab is located on the
Museum's first floor,
in the West Wing.
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Food for Tomorrow is presented in collaboration with the National Museum
of American History Food and Wine History Project.
The Lemelson Center gratefully acknowledges the Lemelson Foundation for
their generous support of this year's New Perspectives on Invention and
Innovation symposium.
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
14th Street and Constitution Ave. NW, Washington DC 20560.
Contact us at [log in to unmask].
General Smithsonian Visitor Information: 202-633-1000
There’s more online:
Lemelson
Center website
National
Museum of American History Frequently Asked Questions
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